Road Trip
by SimplyMatteney
Summary: Mostly light Matteney fluff, nothing too big. Courteney and Matthew are driving home after finishing filming season 4. The summary does not do the story justice so please read, review and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**_Mostly light Matteney fluff, nothing too big. Courteney and Matthew are driving home for break after finishing season 4 of friends. Not my characters, just my words. please read, review and enjoy! _**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Matthew Langford Perry," I told you to pee before we hit the road again. There isn't a rest stop for another hundred miles, you'll just have to suck it up."

Scolding her friend like she was his mother, Courteney internally giggled as the look of panic spread onto his face at her news of no rest stops for about another two hours. She and Matthew were traveling back to LA together after spending sometime in Vegas, for a few episodes. The pair couldn't wait to get back.

"We can't stop at like a McDonald's or something? I'm serious Court, I'm gonna die if we don't stop soon. How would you live with yourself knowing you killed the one and only Matthew Perry?"

He had been at the wheel for their last shift, and being determined to reach the half way point by nightfall, he had consumed a good amount of Red Bull to keep himself awake. He loved having Courteney there to talk to, but at one point or another, she had taken his jacket as a blanket slash cuddling mechanism, curled herself into a ball, and crashed in the passenger seat. If he hadn't been driving, he'd have been watching her sleep—not in a weird, Twilight fashion—but in an innocent way of sneaking a peek every so often to watch as her nose would occasionally scrunch up or to see the occasional sleepy smile curl up at the corners of her lips. She was so innocent and downright adorable when she slept that he couldn't dare wake her, hence their late departure that morning; he had awoken before her in the hotel but couldn't bring himself to wake her from her innocent slumber, and settled for laying on the edge of his own bed in their hotel to watch her dream in her own.

However, the consequence to that was consuming a four pack of Red Bull all on his own. After they had stopped for dinner and she had wisely advised him to take a restroom break before they hit the road again, he had declined, saying he would be fine, that his hyped up energy rush from the Red Bull would give him enough entertainment to focus his mind on something else if he indeed found himself having to pee after they left the restaurant.

Which was five minutes after they hit the highway.

The energy rush on top of his now full bladder created for a full puppy-dog effect; he was essentially sitting in the passenger seat of the car wagging his tail, pawing at the window to be let out as Courteney sat behind the wheel and giggled. Of course, she could always pull over and let him relieve himself on the side of the road, but they both knew he wouldn't ever bring himself to do that. He always waited until they were done filming and then galloped to the nearest bathroom, which was always a sight to see. She always poked fun. He always let her. He enjoyed making her laugh.

Except in this situation. He was genuinely in pain and they still had an hour and a half to go.

Sitting in the passenger seat of her car, legs crossed, face beginning to turn red, she tried to find something to take his mind off the pain.

"Why don't we play the license plate game?" she suggested, then realizing that it was 8 PM on a Tuesday and no one was really on the I-5 at that point.

"You could flash me… That would sure keep my mind of my little…situation" Matthew suggested half joking.

"Ah, what a romantic you are Matty." Courteney replied.

"What about 20 questions?" he replied, his suggestion being more conversational and containing less silences for him to dwell on his predicament.

At this, she giggled. "I mean I'm not opposed to the idea, but what exactly is there about me that you don't know yet? I'm pretty sure by this point, you may know me better than I know myself. Which does In fact inflict some terror."

He smiled almost as genuinely as she did at this phrase. He was glad that they had gotten closer; close enough, in fact, that she was eager and willing to take the road trip home with him alone. (Not including the fact Jen has to stay an extra day to film)

"Well, let's see if we can uncover some things I don't know then, shall we?"

It was more of a prompt to get their little "game" going than a suggestion that she could turn down—which she wouldn't have if given the chance anyway.

"Alright, you're up first then," she said with a coy smile. "Take it away Perry, Ask me anything."

"Hmmm," he began, pondering for a moment. "In the next ten years, where do you see yourself?"

She immediately knew the answer to this question, and he did as well. But he loved hearing the enthusiasm in her story almost as much as she loved telling it, so he sat back to enjoy the show, almost regretting not bringing a bucket of popcorn along.

"In the next ten years, I want to have a family," she began, a wave of joy rushing over her face. "I want to be married to the guy of my dreams: someone who can be down to earth but still keep me on my toes, a family man, someone right for me as well as for our children. I want to be in the kind of love that's still new no matter how many times we wake up next to each other, always learning about each other."

As she rattled off these qualities of her "dream man", the only vision that popped into her head was one of herself and Matthew. He understood her better in the first two months of knowing each other on set than her on-off lover David had in their (so far) two year relationship. He was able to break through her barriers when she had come to the set in tears, needing someone to just hug her while she reminisced on the breaking relationship thinking her love life was over. He wasn't just a supportive friend who sat with her while she cried, but offered advice, distractions, and helped cheer her up. He was the only one who could get her to smile.

The smile spreading across her cheeks in that moment was all thanks to him. "I want a big family," she continued, trying to push the thought from her mind. "I've always wanted kids, and I want them to have the relationship that I had with my sisters, but for their entire childhood. I want them to know what love is. I want them to be able to look back and remember that their parents loved them wholeheartedly, and loved each other until God took them home; that through everything, they had a constant in each other."

Suddenly, she felt his thumb softly on her cheek. He was wiping a tear away; she hadn't even realized that she had started crying.

"Oh, God," she responded, chuckling as she wiped the other cheek, stealing a glance over to see his reaction. His smile was genuine, making the urge to stop crying even harder.

"Sorry to get all sappy on you. It's just something I really want for myself, you know?"

"No, no, I completely understand," he responded sincerely. "It's nice for someone in this world to still want that for their future. You don't see many dreams like that these days."

She gave him an inquisitive, "Hmm?" urging him to explain further, which he did.

"People are so caught up in the work world and getting ahead financially that they toss love aside like it can be picked up as easily as the morning paper, when in actuality, divorce is too common and homes are broken and it's just… well it's sad. I mean I want what you want: I want my kids to know love too. When you really think about it, that should be something commonplace, but when it's not, it's harder to find someone who can actually agree with you to make that dream a reality."

Hesitantly, he glanced up at her, his own expression filled with apprehension for what her reaction might be.

He wanted to be with her, but at the same time he was so afraid that he wouldn't be enough for her. They were amazing friends and worked so well together in any situation; they were closer than he had been with anyone else in his life. He just couldn't fathom being a disappointment.

Her reaction assured him that he was nowhere close—in fact, quite the opposite—to that fear.

She suppressed another urge to start crying, deciding instead to actually take her eyes off the road for a second and smile at him with so much emotion that all he could do in response was to smile back and reach over, covering one of her hands with his own, squeezing it lightly in reassurance.

"OH MY GOD, DOES THAT SAY FOOD EXIT IN 5 MILES?!" Their tender moment was interrupted by Matty's bathroom-dar; if he hadn't have nearly bolted to the window to read the sign, she surely would have missed it.

She made a mental note of the exit number and took the ramp, pulling into a parking spot at the Wendy's as he essentially flew out of the car and hurled himself through the door. She laughed to herself, choosing to stay in the car as he used the indoor facilities, trying to imagine what her perfect life would be like if she inserted him into the picture.

They would go to work together, stopping at Starbucks on early mornings. He would order for her, knowing her order better than the baristas: China Green Tips Soy Tea Misto, no sweetener. He'd get a plain black coffee for himself. After work, they would return to their condo in LA, relieving the nanny and enthusiastically scooping their children up into their arms, being presented with arts and crafts and coloring book pages galore. She would cook dinner while he wrestled with the kids or put on a movie, and they would eat dinner as a family, something the two highly valued and promised that they would do every night. After they did the dishes together, their attention would be turned solely towards their children, playing with them, helping them with homework, and just being a family. Bath time would often involve bubble fights, and bedtime would often be elongated with, "One more story, please daddy?" Their children would inherit her signature puppy-dog pout that she often used on him to get her way, and he wouldn't be able to refuse. She would comply, oftentimes so she could stay in the moment of complete and utter perfection that they would be in: perched on a tiny, children's bed, all the children huddled on his lap, fighting to see the colorful pictures in the book, while she sat next to him, running her fingers through his hair, watching as he enthusiastically acted out each and every character in each and every book, each and every night.

After many goodnight hugs and kisses, they would plop into the couch and enjoy the time they had to themselves, falling asleep and waking up in each other's arms.

It was perfect.

So perfect, in fact, that his face appearing at the window seemed to melt from her memories right into reality, as if the vision weren't ending, but simply taking on a different chapter for the time being.

"Are we all better now?" she joked as he buckled himself back into his seat.

He sighed, over exaggeratedly; letting his head tilt back and his eyes close in conjunction with his relief.

"Much better," he replied with a sigh.

"We'd better get going then, if we want to make it to the hotel at a decent hour."

The last 45 minutes of the ride to the hotel were filled with many giggles as she chose to poke fun at his weak bladder and he continued to attempt to divert the story to some other embarrassing entity that she had in her past.

It was nearing 11 PM when they pulled up at a small hotel, and through a fit of overtired giggles, the pair was exhausted and running on fumes.

He hoisted both overnight bags over his shoulder and held the door open for her as she walked to the front desk to check in, the elevator ride to the third floor silent as they let exhaustion take over.

"I'm just going to walk into the room and face plant onto the bed; don't wake me up before noon," she joked as they walked down the hall.

"Wouldn't dare wake sleeping beauty, "he replied, shoving the key in the door.

However, her plans to stretch out and take up the nice comfy hotel bed were cut short as the shabby door opened.

There was only one bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Her plans to stretch out and take up the nice comfy hotel bed were cut short as the shabby door opened.

There was only one bed.

* * *

Standing in the doorway shoulder to shoulder, neither moved for a second, each secretly hoping the other would initiate the bed picking first so they didn't have to feel guilty. Simultaneously, they glanced in each other's direction, meeting each other's gaze for a second before Matthew opened his mouth.

"I'll take the floor. No big deal."

He entered the room, throwing his overnight bag between the bed and the far wall, kicking off his shoes and throwing them next to it. Courteney slowly made her way into the room as he did so, watching him as he went to take one of the oversized throw pillows and put it on the floor to create a makeshift bed.

A tiny hand over his own prevented him from doing so.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor, Matty. We can manage in the same bed for a night." She smiled at him reassuringly, squeezing his hand and gently forced him to put the pillow back.

They turned down the bed together and then retreated to get ready for the night. Matthew allowing Courteney the bathroom to change into her pajamas, telling her he would just change in the main room.

When she emerged in a thin tank top and a pair of tiny shorts, noting the fact that he was currently standing in the middle of the room in a white undershirt and boxers, neither could decide how to react.

They opted for awkward laughter to break the tension.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't expect the hotel to only have one bed," he chuckled. "I didn't think to pack actual pajamas."

"It's okay, mine isn't much better!" she replied, a giggle of her own making him feel more at ease.

They stared at each other, more innocent blushing than awkwardness, finally deciding that if they didn't actually get into the bed that they would both end up sleeping standing up.

Neither wanting to intrude on the other's personal space, they each kept to their side of the bed, equally distributing the covers.

"Did you want to watch a little TV before we call it a night? I'm telling you now there's no way in hell you're getting me to sit through a sappy romantic ….again" he said.

"Don't pretend your love for titanic isn't true. I saw you weeping like a big old baby" she replied, receiving a sarcastic comment from Matty in return.

settling into her pillow as he flipped through the channels mindlessly, his head truly occupied on what little space—and cloth material for that matter—separated them at that moment.

Finally settling on a Comedy stand-up special, they chuckled at the comedian's corny jokes, making some of their own as they fought exhaustion, not wanting to be the first to actually fall asleep in their shared bed.

Eventually, Courteney felt her eyelids begin to droop, and Matthew giggled as watched her fighting to stay awake.

"Go to sleeeeeeeeep," he whispered, watching her attempt to blink back the fatigue that was clearly written all over her face.

She smiled sleepily at him, "No pranks Mr. Perry" closing her eyes as she tucked her head into the pillow.

"Cant promise anything there, Cox" he replied.

"Goodnight Matty," she half giggled, half whispered as she let his name roll off her tongue.

He smiled at her, wanting ever so much to reach out and brush the stray strand of hair from her eyes as she drifted off to sleep, but knowing that he shouldn't.

He settled for watching her fall asleep instead, noting as the rise and fall of her chest became more subdued, slower.

He whispered a reply "goodnight Court," realizing that by the time he actually opened his mouth to say anything that she was probably off in dream land, and settled into his pillow, going against his better judgment and deciding to sleep facing her. It would mean the world to him for one day of his life to be able to wake up to her smiling face.

* * *

A couple hours into a restless sleep, he was awakened, a small hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Matty, wake up!" he heard her whisper.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he replied groggily, trying to figure out why exactly she was awake at—checking the clock—3:47 in the morning.

"I think the window's open, it's freezing in here."

Only then did he notice the goose bumps that had formed on his own skin and her shivering that was pulsating the bed beneath them. Other than her blatant statement of the temperature change, he never would have noticed; the body heat he felt from her radiated under the covers and had up until that point kept him perfectly content.

He whispered that he would check the status of the window, being sure to give her extra covers as he hopped out of bed.

Sure enough, the window was open, a hearty breeze drifting through, chilling his now exposed skin. He closed it and made his way back to the bed, now shivering.

As replaced the covers over himself, he felt her body instinctively curl towards his, her tiny frame seeking warmth as did his. She didn't exactly cuddle up right into his chest, and he could sense her reluctance, knowing she didn't want to seem too eager.

Taking matters into his own hands, convincing himself that he was only doing it to keep them warm when his intentions were obviously different, he scooted himself closer to her, wrapping an arm around her body to hold her close to him.

She immediately stopped shivering.

"It's okay," he whispered, gently running his hand along the length of her spine.

At that point, she cuddled into his embrace, laying her head on his chest while she rested her hand along his midsection comfortably.

As if naturally, their legs wound up tangled together.

Without knowing, they both fought to stay awake, to savor the moment as long as possible. But in the end, falling asleep in each other's arms was a great consolation to relishing in the immediate moment.

It also meant that the faster they fell asleep, the faster they would be able to wake up in each other's embrace.

* * *

Deciding to sleep until they felt rested enough and begin their journey fresh in the morning, the pair slept until eleven. Matthew was the first to awaken, opening his eyes with a smile on his face as he looked down and saw her ebony hair matted to his chest.

He took in the features of her entire sleeping person: the way her face looked so angelic and at peace as she slept, the way her fingers had curled into a slight ball, the way her feet had seemed to have buried themselves under his legs in the middle of the night—to find warmth or to close the distance between them, he couldn't decide.

He giggled internally, seeing that a small cowlick had formed at the back of her head, and raised his hand ever so gently to smooth it out, letting himself give in to the impulse he had had the night before and eventually moving his hand to brush her messy bangs out of her eyes.

As he did so, her nose scrunched up, and he giggled at how innocent the action made her look.

After a moment or two, she fidgeted in his arms, seeming to want to curl even farther into his chest and go back to sleep, but realized that would not be happening and eventually gave up, blinking her eyes groggily open.

As soon as she realized he was still holding on to her, her morning was instantly brightened.

"Mmmm, good morning Matty," she said, voice still a bit groggy with sleep, offering him a smile.

"Good morning alfalfa ," he replied.

"Oh god, is it really sticking up again?" a sense of annoyance and slight panic washed over her face as she raised her hand to pat down her hair that had sprung back up since he had attempted to tame it moments ago.

"Leave it, it's cute," he laughed, reaching up to take her hand in his and bring it back down under the covers.

She smiled, blushed.

After a few moments, he reluctantly suggested they pack up and head out, not wanting to hit traffic.

She agreed, but they both still lay there, neither wanting to be the first to get up, still too caught up in laying there with each other to ever think that moving would be a good option.

The buzzing from his cell phone decided for them that they should begin moving. It was his mother calling, wanting to make sure they were making it back safe. She smiled at him, letting him take the call as she retreated to the bathroom to brush her teeth and dress for their long day of driving. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she reminisced on the night.

They had slept together.

Not had sex, but spent the night in each other's comforting embrace.

It felt nice.

It felt right.

It felt like home.

Not realizing she had been daydreaming for an extended period of time, she heard a slight knock at the door and told him it was okay to come in, spitting out the toothpaste and packing up her travel bag as he walked in behind her.

They made small talk as he brushed his teeth and messed with his hair, trying to decide if breakfast was even worth it, when and where they would stop for lunch, how far they planned to make it that night.

As they packed up the car and headed out, the ambiance of the entire trip had shifted.

Their conversations came with more ease than ever before, their giggles more frequent and yet they still found plenty of deep, genuine emotion within each and every topic.

Without having to say it outwardly, they both enjoyed this new energy.

As the topic of conversation began to change, Matthew, who was behind the wheel at that point—noticed a slight bump under the tires.

Not the kind you feel when hitting a pot hole or a small animal.

The bumping increased frequently, and he knew where this was headed.

He pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway, his head finding his palm even before he had made his way to the rear of the car.

They had blown a tire.


	3. Chapter 3

"Did you hear that?" He could tell by the panic on her face that she had.

Getting out to examine the damage, he hung his head, squatting down next to the flattened tire out of sheer lack of anything else to do. He felt a small hand come to rest reassuringly on his shoulder. Looking up, she gave him a weak smile before tilting her head towards the trunk.

"Come on, I've got a spare."

Popping the back hatch, the panic in her face returned.

"Where's the spare?" he asked, that same question itching in her mind as he spoke the words.

"I completely forgot about my blow-out last summer. I must not have replaced the spare after it; oh my god how could I be so stupid?!"

She stomped away from the car in frustration, not knowing whether to throw her arms up or cross them in frustration.

He jogged after her, catching her by the shoulder and holding her square to his frame.

"Hey, don't worry about it, we'll just call a tow truck."

"Matty, we're in the middle of the highway, it's going to take a tow truck forever to get to us," she replied, a hint of fear lingering in her words.

Putting on a smile to try and cheer her up, he responded, "Well hey. We've got beautiful weather, a bag of snacks in the car, and at least one extremely interesting person to entertain us until then!"

She giggled. "I mean, you're pretty interesting yourself."

"Oh, I was talking about myself. Miss Debbie Downer over here doesn't think we'll be able to survive in the wilderness for a couple of hours until the mechanic comes to the rescue," he joked back, causing her to laugh.

She giggled, uttering a sarcastic thanks before pulling out her phone to find the number for the nearest tow truck, sauntering off down the road a bit as she tried to explain to the man on the other end of the phone where exactly they had broken down.

He watched her walk, head bobbing and free hand illustrating the words she was speaking into the phone. She had this glow about her that he couldn't quite explain.

Eventually, he decided to return to the car, shutting off the engine and pocketing her keys before rummaging in the backseat for his coveted bag of snacks. Stocked to the brim with snack cakes, potato chips, and crackers, the smile of a teenaged boy crept across his face. He grabbed two bottles of water and a blanket and returned back to the shoulder, seeing that Courteney was still on the phone.

He spread the blanket out, creating a mock-picnic in the grass on the side of the highway, cars and trucks speeding by as he protected his snacks from being blown away. As he finished arranging the food in a cute array of after school snacks, she walked back towards him, explaining that the tow truck was on its way, but seeing as the nearest depot was upwards of 75 miles away, they would be waiting for a while.

"What's this?" Asked, pointing towards his picnic.

He puffed out his chest, proud of his arrangement.

"Lunch!"

"Woooooow, impressive," she returned, sitting down on the blanket.

"Figured it'd give us something to do while we wait," he shrugged, sitting next to her, a little closer than he may have done the previous day.

He picked up a package of cupcakes, and opened it, offering her one of the pair as he shoved the other into his mouth.

"Want one?" he asked, mouth full of cupcake.

She giggled, "Sure," taking the wrapper out of his hands.

"Hold on, you have frosting on your face," she said, bringing her thumb to gently wipe the frosting from his face.

He caught her gaze, holding it there for a second, not knowing if he should go in for the kiss or finish chewing his cupcake first. He opted for the latter, shooting her a goofy grin instead.

"So," he started, opening up a bag of chips and falling onto his back so that he was lying on the blanket, staring up at the sky. "What exactly are we going to do for an hour while we wait for this guy to come?"

She joined him laying her head next to his, curling her legs towards his body.

"We could just lay here and watch the clouds," she suggested, pointing at one above their heads. "That one kinda looks like a bunny, don't you think?"

He strained his eyes, trying to make out the image that she saw, but failing.

"You mean that one?" He pointed.

"Yeah, don't you see the ears and the little tail?"

"Looks more like a flower to me than a bunny, Court." he scoffed, trying to give her a hard time.

"Fine," she scoffed back, trying not to giggle as she found another cloud. "What about that one?"

"It looks like a cupcake!" he enthused, eliciting another giggle from her.

"Someone's hungry," she laughed, reaching down next to her to open up another package of cupcakes.

Sitting up on her knees, she held the cupcake to his mouth, letting him bite off a piece before biting into the other side herself. Lying back down, she allowed him to put his arm around her shoulder and lay her head on his chest.

"I miss being outside like this. It reminds me of when we used to go camping when I was little. You could see stars for miles and miles. There are barely any in LA," she said.

"God, I haven't been camping in forever," he chipped in, rubbing his hand against her shoulder. "We should go."

"Camping? Now?"

"Well sure, why not? We're sight-seeing, are we not? What better way to do it than under the stars. We've got all the time in the world to get back to the hectic world of Los Angeles, let's just enjoy what we're seeing."

She propped her chin up on his chest, looking into his eyes.

"You're serious? You'd really go camping with me?"

"Of course I would," he replied.

She smiled in response, not wanting to move as he slowly brought his hand up to rest on her cheek. He sat up, effectively pulling her into his lap, never once breaking their gaze. He was leaning in, noticing her softly close her eyes in preparation, prepping her lips to taste his, when he heard a voice yelling her name.

"Are you Courteney Cox?"

There was a man with a tow truck parked on the shoulder in front of their car, and he was now walking towards them, yelling her name.

Sighing in disappointment, she gave him a sad smile before standing up and walking towards the mechanic.

"Yes, I'm Courteney."

"Got a call about picking up your car?"

"Yes, I guess I forgot to replace the spare after my last blow out," she replied, pointing towards the rear flat.

"Happens to the best of us," he chuckled back, hooking the car up to the tow. "You guys can hop in the front of my truck; I'll take ya back to the shop."

They cleaned up their picnic, wrapping the blanket up and throwing it in the car (Matthew decided it would be best to take the snacks with them, just in case) before hopping into the musty, mechanic truck.

The ride to the shop was quiet for the most part, the mechanic asking them where they were headed and inquiring about their previous adventures.

When they arrived at the shop, two other men began unloading Courteney's car from the hatch as the man who had driven them in, set up the paperwork for billing. They waited in the lobby, the Portland ABC news channel playing softly in the background as Courteney watched the mechanics change her flat through the window. A strange inquiry brought her from the trance of watching them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cox?"

Her head whipped immediately to look at Matthew who was trying to hide the fact that he was blushing.

They smiled at each other for a moment before she got up to approach the mechanic behind the desk.

"It's actually Ms., we're not married," she admitted, a bit embarrassed.

She didn't say they weren't together, Matthew noted, smiling to himself.

"Oh! Sorry. I just kind of assumed, ya know?"

She told him it was okay, and he handed her the keys.

Matthew placed a hand on the small of her back as they walked outside where her car was waiting, saying he would take over driving his shift and that she didn't have to worry about it.

Neither spoke until they got back on the highway.

"So I guess if we ever get married, I'm taking your name?" he joked, wanting to make light of the situation.

She giggled in response. "Matthew Langford Cox Sounds kinda funny, don't you think?"

"Little bit," he admitted, his nose scrunching at the sound. "Courteney Perry doesn't sound so bad."

She blushed in response; he could see the pink tint in her cheeks in his peripheral vision and smiled.

"I can't believe he thought we were married," she said eventually.

"Yeah, me neither."

It was silent for a while, both pondering what had just occurred at the shop. After about a half an hour of driving, Matthew finally broke the silence.

"So what do you want to do about dinner and stuff for the night?"

Becoming suddenly excited, she turned towards him. "You could be my favorite person in the world and we could go see a show at the theater." She gave him an over-exaggerated smile, trying to persuade him to take her.

He could only laugh in response.

"Thought I already was your favorite person in the world. But how could I say no to that face?"

She smiled a bit bigger, relaxing back into her seat.

"And then maybe we could camp out like you wanted to."

"Sounds like a plan," she grinned back.

Tonight was going to be an adventurous night.


	4. Chapter 4

Courteney was ready to tuck and roll from the car before Matthew had even parked it. Hands and nose pressed to the window like a child on her first trip to Disney World, she eyed the exquisite outdoor theater, wanting to run for the entrance. Matthew could only smile at the way she transformed from an adult into a bouncing, giddy little girl as they exited the car, having to keep up with her quick pace as she headed for the entrance, reaching back to take his fingers in her hand. The warmth from her touch ironically sending a chill up his spine.

They approached the ticket window, and Courteney excitedly asked for two tickets to that night's showing of Romeo and Juliet.

As the cashier rang up the total, she propped her purse up on the ticket window to pay; Matthew's hand, however stopped her.

"I've got it," he replied with a smile forcing her purse closed.

"No Matty, I can pay for my own ticket-" she began to protest.

"It's my treat." He grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket and handed the cashier his credit card, basking in the glow of her smile as he handed Courteney her ticket and followed her into the theater.

The exquisite amphitheater with its intricate house- like feel as a stage setting made Courteney's mouth drop agape in wonder, Matthew catching the twinkle in her eye as she paused on the stairs leading down to their seat to simple admire where they were.

"This is absolutely breathtaking."

"It really is," he replied, not taking his eyes off her for a moment.

Satisfied with the view, she let herself entangle her fingers in his once more and led him down to their seats, which were centered in the theater, giving them the perfect view of the stage from all angles.

They flipped through their programs in silence for a bit, reading up on the actors of the night and the history of the theater before she broke the silence.

"Do you miss it?" she asked him, eyes still focused on the pages she mindlessly flipped through.

"Miss what?"

"Theater. Do you miss being on stage at all?" she stared up at him as she waited for his answer. He paused and smiled, reminiscing on his past days.

"I do, sometimes. It was a really amazing part of my life. There's this element of performing for a live audience that just gives you an unexplainable rush, and you don't really get that working for the camera. I miss that a lot."

She watched the little bursts of joy that would come into his eyes as he spoke of his past, wishing she could have been there for that part of his life.

"But as much as I miss the stage, I wouldn't trade anything for what I've got going now." He smiled at her sweetly, meaning every word he said. Not only was his current job filming an absolutely amazing story; he had met the most amazing woman in the world, and no amount of plays could ever make up for the smile that was currently staring back at him.

The lights flashed, signaling the impending beginning of the show, and she perched up on her seat excitedly, glancing back to smile hugely at him and then to the stage as she glanced around looking for performers taking places or crew members readying props.

As the lights dimmed, she settled back in her seat, leaning a bit towards Matthew's body, the only thing separating them being the armrest between them.

He glanced over at her, a combination of the impending moonlight and stage lights casting an enchanting glow on her cheeks. He put his arm around her, letting his hand fall to rest on her shoulder, and was both surprised and relieved when she immediately lay her head on his shoulder, choosing to watch the show from this position rather than perched like a bluebird on the edge of her seat.

She sought protection in him, comfort in him. He felt like home.

She stayed with her cheek rested on is shoulder for the entirety of the show, never once finding it necessary to leave the warmth of his embrace.

As the show ended, she felt it difficult to sit up, not wanting to move from the comfort of Matthew's arms. It seemed as though he felt the same way, for as the patrons around them were all getting up and heading towards the exit, they sat still, basking in the ambiance of the theater as an eerie fog from the spotlights waded over them.

She moved her head every so slightly, so that she could look up at him, smiling tiredly as she blinked her eyes a few times.

He smiled right back, tilting his head towards the exit.

He kept his arm around her as they stood and made their way out of the theater, needing to keep her close to him, though she didn't protest. They walked to the car in silence, not speaking until they shut the doors, not wanting to interrupt the pulse of electricity that was rushing between them.

As he started up the car, the roar of the engine dampening the tenderness for a second, she broke the silence.

"That was so absolutely incredible" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much for taking me, Matty. You really are the best."

"Of course," he replied, smiling as she gushed over the show. "Anything to see that smile of yours."

At this, she smiled even bigger than she had been before, scrunching her nose in that adorable way that caused his heart to burst.

"So you ready for some quality outdoor sleeping?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Oh, I was born ready!" she replied back.

They stopped at a nearby Walmart, heading to the outdoors section to pick up two sleeping bags, a lantern, and a lighter for a fire.

As they stood in the line waiting to check out, Matthew suddenly jerked back. "I'll be right back," he exclaimed, turning back towards the aisles. "Forgot something."

She smiled as he jogged off, sighing as she thought on their night together.

He had taken her to the theater.

He was taking her camping.

She couldn't think of a more perfect situation.

Until her returned, goods In hands.

"Can't have a proper camp out without s'mores!" he grinned hugely, holding up a box of graham crackers, an over-stuffed bag of marshmallows, and a king sized Hershey's chocolate bar.

Her eyes grew as wide as her stomach, grabbing the marshmallows from his hand as she threw them onto the register with the rest of their items.

They drove ten minutes down the road, purchasing a night at the Campground, pulling up to a tent site and laying their sleeping bags out, choosing to camp next to each other under the stars rather than spending the money on a tent.

Matthew had gotten fire wood from the main building at the front of the park and started a fire while Courteney unpacked the marshmallows and began eating them.

"Hey!" He said in a fake scolding tone. "That's not fair, you started without me!"

She giggled, mouth still stuffed to the brim with marshmallows as he walked over and snatched the bag from her jokingly, plopping himself down beside her on the same sleeping bag so that their sides were completely flesh. She crossed her legs, resting one knee on his legs as he popped a marshmallow into his mouth.

"Did you even play chubby bunny when you were a kid?" he asked through a mouthful of fluff.

"Chubby bunny?" she asked back.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed as he took a handful of marshmallows out of the bag before throwing the bag into her lap, indicating that she do the same. "You see how many marshmallows you can fit in your mouth, and after each marshmallow, you have to say 'chubby bunny', and if it falls out, you loose. "

She eyed him for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Used to play it all the time when I was a kid. I always won, too." He bragged, puffing his chest out a bit.

"Oh, is that so?"

"It is!"

"Well Mr. Perry, looks like I'll have to steal that chubby bunny title from you once and for all," she replied matter- of- factly as she grabbed her own handful of marshmallows.

"Oh you're on, Cox."

And so they began adding marshmallows, giggling through "chubby bunny's" as it became harder and harder to fit.

They were each at 8 marshmallows a piece when Matthew noticed that his stash was out. Courteney took a new marshmallow out and took the liberty of attempting to place it in his mouth, squishing her thumb into the bursting pile of marshmallows. He began to giggle as he watched her concentrate on fitting the marshmallow into his mouth, brow furrowing, but mouth still bursting with fluff. He couldn't contain his laughter, the look on her face too priceless for words, and the fluff burst out of his mouth as he fell back laughing.

The situation in itself made her laugh too, spitting the marshmallows onto the ground beside her as they both doubled over in laughter. She eventually came to rest her head on his stomach, still laughing at the silly game they had been playing.

As they eventually calmed down, she turned onto her stomach, propping her chin on his chest.

"I won!"

"No you didn't!" he defended jokingly. "We both had 8, technically it was a tie."

"But you caved first, so technically I win."

"Oh alright, Monica." he joked. "But only because you looked so damn cute trying to concentrate with all those marshmallows in your mouth."

"Well that makes one of us, because you looked funny as hell with you mouth full of them," she giggled.

After a few moments of extended nervous giggling, he reached over and grabbed what was left of the marshmallows.

"S'more time?"

"Yes!" she replied enthusiastically, sitting up and grabbing the chocolate for herself.

As they sat in front of the fire and roasted their marshmallows, he couldn't seem to stop staring; the way the fire light caught her eyes mixed with the backdrop of endless stars in the sky was so entirely amazing.

"What are you staring at"? she asked with a smile, turning her marshmallow around so it became toasted on all sides.

"You're beautiful," he replied after a moment, smiling at her.

Even in the dark night sky, he could see her blushing. She smiled, staring into the fire for a minute before turning to look at him in awe. How had she gotten so lucky to stumble upon him?

After their marshmallows were toasted to perfection, he took her skewer and made her a s'more before making his own. They sat in silence while they munched on their snacks, staring out into the endless night sky.

"Its so gorgeous out here," she said finally. "I hate that you can't see stars like this out in LA. It reminds me of being back home."

He nodded, pondering a moment while he finished his bite.

"Have you ever thought about moving back there?"

"Back to Alabama?" she asked. He nodded in response.

"I mean, it will always be my home, and I'll always go back there to visit my family. But I've created a new home for myself. In LA and it's all I ever could have asked for. I wouldn't trade any of what I have there for the world. I'll always have Alabama, but it's about time I started opening up the next chapter of my life, find someone new to spend it with."

She had been staring down at her S'more, not wanting to meet his gaze while she spoke. As she let her words trail off, she slowly looked up to meet his eyes, glowing bright blue in the light of the fire as he leaned down to capture her lips in his.

It was a sweet kiss, their faces made hot by the fire in front of them. He lingered on her lips, savoring in the sweet taste for a few moments as he let his hand rest on her cheek before pulling away. She blinked her eyes open after a moment, meeting his gaze and matching his smile, both sitting in the moment as a soft wind whipped past them, neither seeming to mind.

As exhaustion from the day began to take it's toll. They decided to settle in, Matthew putting out the fire as Courteney pulled out their sleeping bags, blankets and pillows from the car.

She lay a large blanket out as a base, setting the sleeping bags out on top of them, wrapping her jacket around her as the wind picked up and sent a chill over the campgrounds.

Matthew joined her, helping her with the pillows as he too grabbed his jacket from the car, zipping it up to his chin.

"Gettin' a little chilly," he noted slipping into his sleeping bag.

"Mhm," she nodded in agreement as she snuggled her sleeping bag up next to his as an attempt to get warmer.

"You know," he started out hesitantly. "We could open up the sleeping bags to be one big blanket. Body heat'll make us warmer."

Without uttering a vocal response, she immediately unzipped her sleeping bag; he smiled, unzipping his as well as they joined the two blankets at the zipper and huddled under them for warmth. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in closer to him as she rested her head on his chest.

"I wish we could just stay like this forever," she uttered quietly, entangling her legst with his as she tried to close the distance between them, both for warmth as well as for closure.

"hey," he whispered, pulling her in closer. "I'm not going anywhere." She turned her head up to look at him, and he pulled her into a soft kiss.

"You might not always be able to see the stars while we're in California, but every time I look into your eyes, that's all I see."

She smiled at him, not wanting to let the fatigue behind her twinkling eyes take her over; he saw her fighting sleep, and placed a kiss to her forehead in reassurance that it was okay for her to sleep, that he would be there when she woke up. As he traced lazy circles on her arm with his thumb, they fell asleep under the stars, wrapped in each other's embrace.

and there we have it! I hope you enjoyed!


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